Sunday, April 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

STEVE SEBELIUS: Goodman -- So what?

First of all, there's no truth to the reports that a city-purchased videotape with a voice claiming to be Mayor Oscar Goodman has been found, offering a truce with the media if they'll agree to stop attacking his family. And the Las Vegas police intelligence section has not said the voice is "likely" that of the mayor.

But it is true that plenty of people are reading the rapidly growing Goodman clip file and wondering, "What's the big deal"?

Take, for example, Doug French, a freelance writer who penned a piece for Republican gadfly George Harris' daily e-mail newsletter, Liberty Watch Nevada. French excoriates my colleague, political commentator Jon Ralston, for going after the mayor on ethics charges.

It's not like Goodman wasted a lot of taxpayer money, French writes. He wasn't like those evil politicians who supported a record tax hike at the 2003 Legislature.

The only problem with this bit of moral confusion is that it lets the mayor off the hook for conduct that's really wrong. And why should anybody be above the law, even if they can be funny and charming?

Goodman, or his aides, ordered city staffers to purchase more than $5,000 in videotapes of the mayor's appearances on various TV shows, some of which have absolutely no connection to city business. My review of city records shows that at least $1,410 worth of the tapes serve no purpose but to buttress the mayoral ego, which needs buttressing like Fletcher Jones needs more cars.

Goodman aide Stephanie Boixo ordered city staffers to film, edit, copy and mail video news releases of the party at which Goodman formally announced his endorsement of Bombay Sapphire gin (in exchange for $100,000, to be divided equally between The Meadows School, where his wife works, and the city, to "help the homeless"). The cost to taxpayers was at least $890.

So, yes, we're talking about just $2,300 -- that we know of -- in wasted tax dollars.

But if wasted tax dollars doesn't grab you, how about Goodman using his position to help his son, which is prohibited by a little thing you may have heard of called "the law"? Goodman took four of those city-purchased tapes and loaned them to a business in which is son, Ross, was a partner. The business then used that footage to make a demonstration CD for the for-profit venture, called iPolitix.

And there are other questions, as well, including whether endorsing Bombay Sapphire or allowing the mayoral mug to be used to plug a contest in Jane magazine -- with money flowing to city coffers -- constitutes a prohibited "honorarium."

But if wasted tax dollars or violations of state ethics laws don't grab you, how about fibs? Goodman at first said he never ordered any of the $5,000 worth of videotapes, but later admitted that he had requested tapes. And he falsely claimed at his news conference Thursday that the Las Vegas Sun had published a retraction to one of Ralston's columns; in fact, the paper carried a column suggesting the mayor needed a muzzle.

But if wasted tax dollars, violations of state ethics laws and lies don't grab you, how about the fact that Goodman (assisted by Boixo) has turned an entire department of city government into his own personal public relations agency? He defends his actions, saying he produced "millions of dollars" of publicity for Las Vegas.

Leave aside whether or not that's true. It's not the city's responsibility to get publicity for the town. We have a convention and visitors authority for that. (Goodman should know; he sits on the board.) The city's job is to provide municipal services to its residents, which is hard to do when its highest profile elected official is embroiled in scandal, and top city managers are too frightened or too feckless to say no to Goodman's requests.

But if wasted tax dollars, violations of state ethics laws, lies or a pre-Magna Carta monarchy at City Hall don't grab you, then ... oh, never mind.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. His column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at 383-0283 or by e-mail at ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.